Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 5.5% - Here's Why

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) dropped 5.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $54.36 and last traded at $55.57. Approximately 2,798,682 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average daily volume of 2,232,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 6.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 425.50 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.85% and a net margin of 1.68%. The firm had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.42, for a total transaction of $308,520.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 270,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,888,747.68. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.97, for a total value of $101,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 65,535 shares in the company, valued at $3,340,318.95. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,586,226. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,040 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,215 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.

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